The conversion of large software systems to new hardware or software bases is a difficult task. While conversions are sometimes driven by technology advances, they are often demanded during times of organizational turbulence, such as during mergers or economic change. Although many conversions are not sponsored by technicians, the technical or MIS staff must design and implement them. This may be why little has been written to explain the nuts and bolts of system conversions.

The CAP Gemini America consultants have been involved in such conversions, and they have attempted to abstract their experiences in this book. After a short chapter on “The Decision to Convert,” the two longest chapters discuss “Deciding How to Convert” and “The Conversion.” The chapter “Organization--Addressing the Changing Environment” attempts to discuss the managerial issues of planning, organizational structure, and productivity. Brief chapters on “Preparing for the New Environment,” “Postconversion,” and “Conversion Case Studies” conclude this small volume. The glossary and index are useful and relatively complete; the book contains no reference or bibliography.

While the preface claims that this book is “the first comprehensive study of the business issues involved in a large mainframe conversion,” it is really more an overview of the issues. As an overview, the book has much to recommend it. Detailed lists under headings such as “risk factors” and “project organization” will be useful to managers who face conversion projects; they will remind the manager of the factors that must be considered and issues that should not be ignored. Few of the items on these lists are discussed in any detail, however, and the authors present no quantitative data to support their views. For example, at one point they state that “prior to any system tuning, general characteristics regarding both turnaround and user response time (on-line) must be quantified” (p. 40). More discussion and examples, such as typical quantification scales and their interpretation, would be useful. The short case studies are similar and provide little useful data for someone actually about to undertake a conversion.

Overall, this book is useful introductory reading for managers who are either considering large system conversions or about to be responsible for some aspect of such a conversion.